By Oyinlola Awonuga (The New Diplomat’s Entertainment, Fashion and Sports Desk)
Nigeria’s Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Sunday Dare has congratulated Israel Adesanya following his successful UFC middleweight title defence against Brazilian Paulo Costa yesterday.
Adesanya knocked out bitter rival Costa in round two to retain his title. The fight which took place in Abu Dhabi saw Adesanya tore apart his far bigger opponent before landing him brutal strikes that brought the later to the ground.
Costa was left bloodied and bruised on the canvas, with his undefeated record coming to an end. While reacting to Adesanya’s win, Dare wrote on his verified Twitter handle: “UFC- Isreal Adesanya wins again. Second round knockout! Middle Weight Champion of the World! Nigeria in the podium again. Shout out to Lagos!”
The Sports Minister also congratulated Nigeria’s Hakeem Dawodu who secured his fifth consecutive win after overcoming Zubaira Tukhugov.
Fighting in the featherweight category, Dawodu showcased a diverse striking arsenal, good conditioning and solid takedown defense to better Tukhugov by split decision in the kickoff fight for the pay-per-view main card on Saturday night.
After three rounds, the judges scored the fight 30-27 and 29-28 for Dawodu while the third official gave it to Tukhogov with a 29-28 score in his favor.
“UFC- I also congratulate and celebrate Hakeem Dawodu.”, another Nigerian wrote.
